Wikipedia

Isoko language

Isoko
RegionNigeria
EthnicityIsoko
Native speakers
420,000 (2001)[1]
Niger–Congo
  • Atlantic–Congo
    • Volta–Niger
      • yeai
Language codes
ISO 639-3iso
Glottologisok1239

Isoko is an Edoid language spoken by the Isoko people in the Niger Delta of southern Nigeria, specifically in the regions of Delta and Bayelsa States. The Isoko and Urhobo languages are not dialects of the same language but separate languages; each existing independently, but erroneously speculated as dialects of a language. This has in so many ways suppressed the language below it's neighbour Urhobo language. Isoko has about 20 to 21 dialects, but the Aviara/Uzere dialect is the standard dialect of the language.

Michael A. Marioghae, working with Peter Ladefoged in 1962, made one of a few audio recordings of sample Isoko words that are made available at the UCLA phonetics archive.[2]

Phonology

The Isoko vowel system is hardly reduced from that reconstructed for proto-Edoid. There are nine vowels in two harmonic sets, /i e a o u/ and /ɪ ɛ a ɔ ʊ/.[3]

References

  1. ^ Isoko at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ^ Isoko audio word-list
  3. ^ Archangeli & Pulleyblank, 1994. Grounded phonology, p 181ff

External links


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by its online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information, please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.

Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.